Till Death Do Us Part
by Known Unknowns
Summary: After all the years, all the tears, and all of the mending and breaking of both her heart and his, he could still surprise her. Tag to 5x24 - "Watershed".


**Till Death Do Us Part**

_A/N: Okay, wow. What a finale. As is my usual fashion, I immediately wrote a tag. I had to get some feels out of my system!_

_Disclaimer: I do not own Castle, nor do I make any profit from this story._

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"Katherine Houghton Beckett, will you marry me?"

After all the years, all the tears, and all of the mending and breaking of both her heart and his, he could still surprise her. She stared down at the ring he held in his hand. It sparkled in the late spring sunlight, dazzling her. It was simply and elegant, beautiful. She knew that he had picked it out for her with the intent to capture her essence. The idea that he thought something so perfect could represent her touched her heart.

She didn't know what to say. All the coherent thoughts in her mind had slowed down, like her brain was thrown into a thick soup. Her mouth had drifted open, and her eyes were darting between the ring and the intense dark blue gaze that was fixed completely on her. His face remained unchanged, and he held stock still, kneeling in front of her. She knew that he would wait for her to speak, even if he was kneeling there in the grass for hours.

She couldn't believe it, no matter how hard she tried. She blinked her eyes several times, expecting herself to wake up from this, expecting it to be a dream. However, each time she opened her eyes, he was still there. Waiting. His eyes were determined, and she wondered idly if she even had a choice in the matter. He left her no option. His expression told her that much. _I will love you. I will never stop loving you. Promise me you'll do the same._

She always ran away when they got too close, and she had been ready to do the same with him. She hadn't known where they were going. What were they doing, really? The high had started to wear off, and they had both come back to earth. What were they looking for? They never talked about their future, never about marriage or children. Hell, if they planned what they were doing a week in advance it was a rarity.

Yet, here he was. He didn't want another month, another year, another decade. He wanted her forever. Eternity. Till death do us part. Trudging through the mental sludge in her mind, she tried to imagine a life with Castle, waking up next to him every morning, growing old with him, possibly even having children with him. The idea filled her with a warmth she had never felt before.

Then, she tried to picture her life if she declined, if she turned him down and went her own way. Strangely enough, she couldn't. _I can't imagine my life without him. _And really, that could only mean one thing. _I can't live without him. _The realization hit her like a bucket of ice cold water. She couldn't live her life without this man kneeling in front of her. She couldn't live without his hyperactive moods, his wild theories, his innate childlike nature.

Her heart and her mind finally came to an agreement. Her mind declared that she needed Castle to survive, and her heart declared that she had no problem loving him until they were both six feet under. After a good amount of struggling, she found her voice.

"Yes." Was there anything else that needed to be said? He rose in a flash, swiftly lifting her from the seat of the swing and clutching her to him, forehead leaning against hers as his hands landed on her hips. A few more words escaped her. "Yes, Rick, I'll marry you."

He leaned down and captured her lips with his own, and she decided that of all the kisses they had shared over the past year, it took the cake, because it pushed away all of her fears in one moment. The job in DC was not on her mind, the lies she had told him, the crossroads they had come to - none of it mattered. He pulled back from her ever so slightly, carefully sliding the ring onto the ring finger on her left hand, never taking his eyes off of her.

"I love you," he whispered, kissing her once more now that the cool weight of the ring was on her hand. It fit her perfectly. When she managed to snag a breath, she responded.

"Forever?" she asked, even though she was fairly sure she knew the answer. He brushed a stray lock of hair out of her eyes, cupping her cheek as he gazed at her.

"Always."

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_A/N: Review, pretty please. :) Am I the only one dying for the fall to come?_


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